Sleep apnea is the cessation of breathing for a short time while sleeping. Sleep apnea has multiple classifications based on source of dysfunction. Obstructive sleep apnea results from mechanical blockage of the airway, for example due to weight of fatty neck tissue compressing the trachea. Central sleep apnea results from neurological dysfunction. Mixed sleep apnea has a combination of mechanical and neurological cause.
Upper airways of the nose and pharynx are held open during breathing by dilator muscles that counteract pressure gradients that would otherwise cause airway collapse. In obstructive sleep apnea, mechanical airway obstruction resulting from superior airway size reduction, increase in airway compliance, and reduction in airway muscle tone leads to pressure disequilibrium that tends to collapse the airways.
The nervous system controls activity of the dilator muscles and respiratory muscles, resulting in a coordinated response to stimulation or depression. Ventilatory fluctuations of hyperventilation and hypoventilation occur during sleep to facilitate breathing without conscious control, reducing the work required for breathing. Unfortunately, in obstructive sleep apnea the ventilatory fluctuations allow superior airway instability and oropharyngeal obstruction, exacerbating the difficulties and dangers of sleep apnea.
Similarly, nervous system interactions of respiratory and cardiovascular functions tend to worsen the problems that arise in sleep apnea. Cardiac arrhythmia conditions such as bradycardia, tachyarrhythmia, atrioventricular block, and ventricular extrasystole are aggravated by obstructive sleep apnea, stimulating the autonomic nervous system and further degrading respiratory performance.
Central sleep apnea is cessation of breathing due to neurological dysfunction, for example a failure to generate neuro-muscular stimulation required to initiate and control a respiratory cycle. The neurological dysfunction is believed to originate in the Thalmus area of the brain and may involve primary brainstem medullary depression resulting from a tumor of the posterior fossa, poliomyletis, or idiopathic central hypoventilation. During a central sleep apnea episode, a patient may fail to breath for an extended time, for example a few seconds up to two or more minutes, then rapidly inhale, typically upon arousal from sleep.
FIG. 10 is a graph that illustrates the mechanism of sleep apnea by correlating ventilatory effort to arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2). Ventilatory effort is generally greater during waking conditions than while asleep. Onset of sleep results in two phenomena. First, the onset of sleep causes an increased threshold for blood carbon dioxide concentration. Second, gain or slope (ΔV/ΔPaCO2) of the ventilatory effort increases. The increase in PaCO2 threshold during sleep allows one to breathe a smaller volume of air. During sleep apnea, collapse of ventilation airways causes a decrease in arterial oxygen concentration (PaO2). Arousal from sleep caused by body defense mechanisms increases upper airway muscle tone, causing the airway to open and arterial oxygen concentration to increase, thereby satisfying body oxygen requirements but setting the stage for a subsequent apnea episode.
Symptoms of sleep apnea include snoring, breath holding during sleep, rapid awakening with gasping for air, morning headaches, depression, irritability, loss of memory, lack of energy, high risk of automobile and workplace accidents, and lack of high quality sleep and resulting daytime grogginess and sleepiness.
Sleep apnea is rarely fatal but is linked to high blood pressure and increased probability of heart disease, stroke, and arrhythmias. Patients with coronary artery disease who have a blood oxygen level lowered by sleep-disordered breathing may be at risk of ventricular arrhythmia and nocturnal sudden death. Furthermore, sleep-disordered breathing may cause coronary artery disease and hypertension.
Various treatments exist for sleep apnea including medical device treatments, surgery, and drugs. The type of treatment depends on the type of sleep apnea and, for obstructive apnea, the type and location of airway obstruction and the patient's health condition. Obstructions can occur in the nose or pharynx. Obstructions in the nose may result from a deviated septum or swollen nasal passages. Obstructions in the upper pharynx may result from enlarged adenoids, long soft palate, large uvula, or large tonsils. Obstructions in the lower pharynx may result from a large or posterior-placed tongue, short jaw, or short and wide neck. Drug therapy is usually sufficient for sleep apnea treatment.
Device treatments may be separated into air pressure devices and neural stimulation devices.
The most common pressure device treatment is termed continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and utilizes a mask worn over the nose while sleeping. A hose connects the mask to an air pump that supplies a constant controlled air pressure to a patient's nasal passages and the trachea, preventing collapse. CPAP supplies a continuous, stable pre-determined volume of air to the nasal mask to prevent the airway passage from collapsing.
Bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) treatment is related and similar to CPAP except that BiPAP allows for a reduction in airflow pressure that occurs during expiration. BiPAP allows setting of two different airway pressure levels to avoid fighting incoming air pressure in the expiration portion of the respiratory cycle.
Effectiveness of CPAP varies greatly. Some believe that CPAP is an effective treatment for sleep apnea, but is inconvenient and bothersome to use. Others believe CPAP offers little help in sleep apnea treatment. Still others relate that CPAP is harmful and actually causes sleep apnea episodes since the lung is forced into a constant elevated positive pressure. Normally the lung pressure oscillates between a negative and positive pressure.
Another problem with CPAP and BiPAP devices is the inherent inconvenience and burden of wearing a constricting mask for the sleeping hours, resulting in poor patient compliance with a treatment program.
Various neural stimulation devices are known that generate and apply electrical signals that stimulate nerves to recruit upper airway muscles and maintain muscle tone in the upper airways. Several types of sensing have been used to determine appropriate timing for delivery of muscle stimulation including monitoring of inspiratory effort, respiratory functioning, breathing through the nostrils, and electrical activity associated with contractions of the diaphragm. Problems with neural stimulation include the difficulty of ensuring stimulation of correct muscular structures in the upper airways of a particular patient since the hypoglossal nerve is nearby other structures which should not be stimulated with the structures located differently in different patients.
In addition to device treatments for sleep apnea, various surgical treatments are available. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) surgery removes fleshy tissue of the uvula and tightens soft tissue of the palate and pharynx in an effort to reduce or remove tissue responsible for obstruction. Unfortunately, UPPP involves significant surgical risks including airway swelling, bleeding, considerable pain for days or weeks, and depression of breathing reflex due to application of general anesthetic, a substantial problem for sleep apnea patients with difficulty breathing while not under anesthesia. Furthermore, effectiveness rates for UPPP are low, on the order of 50% effectiveness in about 50% of patients undergoing the operation.
Laser-assisted uvulaplasty (LUAP) is a laser surgery on the uvula and soft palate that is reported to reduce snoring, but having no controlled studies that show effectiveness in reducing sleep apnea. A major problem with LUAP is that snoring is known not merely as a symptom of sleep apnea, but also as a warning sign of a sleep apnea episode. By silencing the warning provided by snoring, a patient may continue with untreated sleep apnea, which may worsen but be ignored.
Pharmaceuticals and medicines are also known treatments for sleep apnea. For example, anti-depressants such as protriptyline or depressants such as klonopin are sometimes prescribed for sleep apnea but appear to be marginally effective.